In wireless data applications, there are two types of technology utilized to transfer data to a handset, categorized generally as either push technology or pull technology. In push technology, a server typically will periodically push available information to a handset, or alternatively, send a message to the handset indicating that additional information is available for the handset to retrieve. Pull technology is typically defined as the client initiating communication with a server in order to retrieve information.
Recently, carriers and vendors of wireless devices have developed systems, methods and wireless devices that push content to subscribers in the form of a scrolling ticker which may contain headlines, sports scores, stock information, or other data or alerts on a portion of the display screen. For example, such systems are commercially available on Motorola wireless device model V557 and available to subscribers of Cingular Wireless, the assignee of the present invention, which Cingular Wireless markets as Active Home Screen™. The scrolling ticker may receive data from multiple channels, including news, sports, weather, and the like.
Such data that is pushed to devices typically have a useful life before the data is considered stale or out of date. Thus, time-to-live (“TTL”) schemes have been defined which is the measure of the time data is made available until that data is out of date. TTL data has an expiration after which it is preferable that the data be updated.
TTL will vary based on the type of data and the current activity level. By way of example only, news events may be updated every hour, weather forecasts may be updated several times per day, and horoscopes updated daily. Unfortunately, simply scheduling periodic updates based on the types of information does not provide flexibility in determining the delivery times based on the information itself. Notwithstanding periodic updates, additional information that becomes available that is time-sensitive may be received. It would be desirable to be able to push this time-sensitive information to the handset immediately.
Currently, there is no system and method for intermediate delivery of time-sensitive information that may be accomplished periodically or a-periodically. In addition to there being a need to provide intermediate delivery for time-critical information, there is also a need for the delivery times of the data to be subject to multiple and variable cycles. For example, it would be desirable to have a system and method for providing sports information relating to baseball that be updated once a day during the off-season, once every four or six hours during the season and just prior to a game, and perhaps every fifteen minutes during a game or alternatively, a-periodically whenever a run is scored during the game. Such a system and method does not exist.